


Echos of a Megalith

by AngryCapper



Category: Zootopia (2016)
Genre: Action, Adventure, Alternate Universe - Post-Apocalypse, Gen, Quest/CYOA, Supernatural Elements
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-12
Updated: 2016-10-09
Packaged: 2018-08-08 05:54:54
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,450
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7745752
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AngryCapper/pseuds/AngryCapper
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The world has been ruined, most people don't know why. Most people don't care. With habitable land becoming scarcer and new threats appearing by the week, it's survival of the fittest.</p>
<p>Nick, a scavenger of sorts has been trusted with a document describing something of immense worth.  What the document is about exactly is a mystery, and Nick intends to unravel that mystery. For better or for worse.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This will be written in the style of a Quest/CYOA, so at the end of every chapter, there will be a poll. Readers vote on which decision to take, and the most popular dictates where the story goes.

The world is much different now. Before there were forests that stretched on for miles, countless shades of green in the world. Trees, grasses, ferns, flowers. When it rained there was always the smell of petrichor. The sight of dew on leaves, snails crawling up walls and traversing through gardens. Grand cities bustling with activity, predators and prey living under the same roof, going to the same workspaces together. Shops full of food and trinkets, free for anyone to buy. Mammals lived worrying about what next to eat, what next to wear, what film to see with their friends next.

The world is much different now. Now there are only dead trees. Stalks of dead wood, like the bones of the world reaching up to the bleak, grey sky. The dirt, once full of nutrient and richness dried up. Few patches of ground now farmable. The once grand cities were now abandoned, the only activity coming from the dangerous wildlife and the brave scavengers that dare to travel into the ruins. Now mammals lived in small walled off towns, worrying about how many bullets they had left, where their next meal would come from, and if their friends really were friends. The green had gone away, and most of civilization with it. What remained was as bleak as the sky, a hopeless shade of grey.

* * *

 

Finally free. The last debt paid. A small smile crept up on Nick, it was a strange feeling. Strangely liberating, knowing that there wasn’t anyone coming after him for reasons of money. His coin pouch felt much lighter, but he knew that it was for a good reason. He walked through the crowded station turned into a town. This region, the Metro, was a popular place for settlements. The tunnel stations often became small encampments, with the tunnels in between populated by even smaller trading posts, armed outposts, or bandit camps. The tunnels and stations were easily defendable, there were only a few avenues of attack, usually with little cover. The region was also vast, spanning a huge amount of ground. One tunnel even went to the railroad that leads to the Zootopian Zone, the remains of the grand city of Zootopia. But very rarely did people ever go through that tunnel, the Bunny Burrow Rail. Nick heard stories, about how the land above the tunnel was a wasteland that nobody could pass, and that the path underground was less of a tunnel and more of a series of deadly tests that only the best could pass. Only stories though, Nick had no interest in going anywhere near that place.

There was a greater amount of prey in the Metro, the few routes of attack made it easier for them to fend off attackers. The confined spaces of the air ducts, small maintenance tunnels, and unmapped secret passages made it no challenge for them to evade when they needed to evade, and strike when they needed to strike. Nick turned a corner and gazed upon where he would sleep next. The Grand Pangolin Arms, a bar and inn made of wood and cheap metal. It was sort of… right, Nick always thought to himself. Before The Fall, predators and prey lived in relative harmony- is what he heard. Here in the Metro towns, the centers of trade, where progress towards a better future was very slowly made, where the last remnants of culture before the fall remained, predators and prey lived in relative harmony. This place, and a few of the surrounding surface settlements were the shining beacons of civilization in this broken world.

Lost in thought, he bumped into someone while walking towards the inn. He heard a thud and glanced down seeing a smaller rabbit, and a few fallen books.  
“Sorry, sorry.” Nick apologized. He crouched down and gathered the various small books and journals, “I should have been paying attention,” he admitted, glancing around. At least five other rabbits, sitting at the bar were looking at them. He saw rifles on their backs, and one glance to the others. Nick noted a paw slowly creeping up on a knife that was resting on the table. He knew not to bully one rabbit, because ten more would jump out of the woodworks to defend their own. The fallen rabbit picked herself back up, “No, I should have,” she spoke, taking the stack of books from Nick’s hands, “Thanks.” she smiled at him.  
Nick gave a small smile back, careful not to show any teeth. As she walked off, Nick glanced back at the rabbits at the bar. They went back to their conversations and drinks. That was good, that meant he wasn’t going to be jumped later. He moved to the bartender. “One room, one night please.” He placed the pay on the bar. The elderly Armadillo counted the coin.  
“Room 4. Don’t lose the key,” she warned, holding out the brass key.  
Nick nodded and took it.

Inside the room, Nick closed his eyes. The sound of clattering plates, chatter, laughter and footsteps became distant. For the first time in what felt like years, he could relax. He shifted his body to get as comfortable as he could, the springs on the bed were infinitely better than the floor, or wood; even concrete. He felt a modicum of safety for a moment. He opened his eyes, only to see the dirty ceiling above, for some reason he hoped that he would see the blue sky. Dotted with white clouds, feeling the warmth of the yellow sun. The tired fox let his heavy eyes close with a sigh, sleep taking him.

He was awakened by the sound of someone small pounding on his door.  
“Nick!” A familiar voice came from the other side. The fox groaned and rubbed his eyes, taking his time getting out of the bed. The loud knocking continued. Nick opened the door and looked down, seeing a fennec fox.  
“Finnick, did you get your old pal some breakfast? Room service here is terrible.”  
“No.” The fennec stated plainly, he walked in and closed the door behind him, jumping up onto the chair, “Look at this,” he took off his rucksack and pulled out a folder.  
Nick rose an eyebrow at it, taking off his thick brown coat, revealing his shoulder holster and a dress shirt underneath. He took it. “This is an awfully well made folder…” He thought out loud, opening it. His eyes widened, this was no document made anytime recently. This was a document from before The Fall. About some sort of device, much of the text was blacked out. This was a classified folder. He had no idea what he was looking at. “How-”  
“Can’t tell you.” Finnick interrupted. This was serious.  
“Any leads at least?”  
“Hidden Burrows.”  
Nick closed the folder. Hidden Burrows was a surface settlement to the south, focused on farming. Farming what, the fox didn’t know. “I’ll take it.”  
“Good. You’re the only person for it.” Finnick replied, “The rest are spineless cowards.”  
Nick chuckled a little. “Thanks, I guess.”  
Finnick leapt off the chair, “Come back alive, I want to know where that leads.”  
Nick opened the door for him, and closed it after he left.  
  
The fox grabbed his rucksack and put it on the bed, carefully placing the documents into it. He took out a box of ammo and placed it on the desk of the room. He also unholstered his trusty revolver, placing it next to his box of ammo. He began to fill his bandolier with bullets, and the various pouches on his belt. There were a couple of ways to get to Hidden Burrows.

 

The first involved money, something Nick was in short supply of. Taking a handcar to the station closest to Hidden Burrows, then walking the rest of the way, which wasn’t a long distance at all. Likely the safer path.  
Next involved travelling through the tunnels on foot, taking the same route. It would take much longer, and likely be more dangerous, but would have little to no cost in terms of money.  
The last was travelling on foot straight to Hidden Burrows on the surface. The most dangerous, most direct route. It would be faster than walking through the tunnels, and Nick wouldn’t have to pay anyone.


	2. Chapter 2

The tunnels used to be free of debris, subway cars zipping through, full of commuters of different size and origin. While the main lanes open for handcars to come through, the smaller side passages are a maze. With tunnels often collapsed, damaged, or obstructed, those who are not prepared often get lost and meet their doom. Not many travel these alternate paths for good reason, bandits lurk in the shadows and tunneling creatures sometimes find themselves lost in the mammal made tunnels. The lost who do not succumb to hunger or thirst are slain by savage raiders, hunted down by monsters, or meet their demise by less physical means.

 

* * *

 

Nick took his dagger out from its sheath, examining its edge. He’d go through the tunnels on foot: no need to pay any fares, and no need to traverse the surface for any length of time. There could be bandits, sure. The fox sheathed the dagger, satisfied with its edge and point. There could be monsters, that would be more problematic than bandits. He grabbed his revolver, opening its cylinder, sliding in the six .44 magnum rounds into the gun. There could be things that bullets and knives couldn’t hurt... Less physical, inexplainable things, but there shouldn’t be anything like that here, so far from the Zootopian Zone. He spun the cylinder, watching the bullets go around. Heavier caliber handguns were popular in the Metro-- mostly the reputation that they carried. Powerful. Accurate. A reputation of effectiveness from even before the fall. Many used the .44 for that reason, and Nick was not immune to its allure. He snapped the cylinder back into place, holstering the revolver. His extra bullets were either on a bandolier wrapped around his torso, or loose in one of his many pouches and pockets. After one last equipment and supply check, he was ready. More or less.

He stepped out of the door, handing the key back to the armadillo. The fox headed towards the markets to buy a few slices of chicken jerky and mushrooms for the trip. As he approached the market section of the settlement, the smell of cooked meat, stews and tea filled his nose. He followed the smell of a particular mushroom stew to a small stall. He watched the tigress mix the hearty food over the fire, mesmerized by the steady stirring.  
“Nick, a bowl is three coins.” The tigress said, noticing his stare,  
Nick smiled, a hint of sadness could be seen in his eyes. “Sorry, leaving for a trip. Next time I’ll buy a bowl.” He moved on, seeing stalls selling guns and weapon attachments; Armor of various kinds-- he even saw a pair of night vision goggles. He saw a stall selling stringed instruments and drums, a few stalls selling small trinkets and bullets. Most of which were too expensive for him. He stopped at a dry food stall, picking out a few pieces of chicken and mushroom jerky. He bartered for them, exchanging a few metal spoons he had found a few days ago while on the surface. He stashed the food into one of the pouches on his rucksack.

Nick walked slowly to the gate of the south entrance, listening to the chatter of conversations and footsteps of the people around him. Somewhere in the station, someone was playing a guitar. The soft melody carried through the entire station, no doubt reaching the ears of most in it. To some it was a nice idle tune, to others it was a song for them to sleep to. For some it was a song of mourning, to look longingly at a picture of a mammal no longer here. To a few, a song to accompany a toast. For Nick it was a song of departure.

He finally reached the large metal doors-- it was like a vault door, reinforced and strong. But Nick could see rust creeping up onto the massive guardian.  
“Heading out, Nick?” The guard asked.  
Nick looked over to the sitting coyote. He wore armor with metal plating, a pair of broken goggles around his neck, an automatic rifle slung over his shoulder, and he could see a sawed off shotgun at his hip. It would take years for Nick to be as well equipped as the guard, but at least his goggles were fine. “Yeah, to Hyde’s Station, then to Hidden Burrows.”  
The coyote got up, “A couple hours ago we got word that the main tunnel to Hyde’s had a small cave in. They’re probably not done yet. You could go through the side tunnels.”  
Nick looked to the door for a second and gave it a bit of thought, “Say, you don’t happen to have a map with the side passages penciled in right?”  
The coyote rose an eyebrow, “Yeah, why?”  
“I’ll swap goggles with you, if you give me your map.” Nick offered. He knew that a pair of goggles wasn’t worth much, but traders around here didn’t sell goggles for predators very often. “Come on, how long have you had those broken ones?” Nick held out his pair of army goggles. It was one of the more valuable things he carried.  He saw the coyote stare at the only slightly dirtied goggles. Waiting for a merchant to come around with goggles in good condition like Nicks, might take weeks. There was a short silence between the two.  
“Fine.” The coyote took out his folded map. They exchanged items, with Nick stashing his new map in his breast pocket. The fox noted that the guard put his new pair of army goggles in an open pouch on the rear of his belt.

The coyote went to the handwheel at the center of the door, taking a few minutes to spin it, unlocking the locking bolts. He then went over to the handle to pull the massive door open. Nick glanced behind him, seeing two other guards flanking them, guns out. No doubt they were security to make sure no problems would happen if anything hostile were on the other side of the door. Since they weren’t focused on him, Nick was sure he would be able to pull it off. Just a moment more. The door slowly slid open, with the gap just being large enough for the fox to slip through. Nick went for it, sliding through the thin opening, bumping into the coyote on the way out. The coyote grunted, “Come on, you couldn’t wait until I got it open all the way?”  
Nick, now a few feet away from the door, spun around started walking backwards. He gave a smug smile and put on a pair of only slightly dirty army goggles.  
“What?” The coyote reached to his pouch and pulled out his pair of broken goggles. Nick heard a grumble and a string of quiet curses and he turned back around and jogged further into the dimly lit tunnel. Eventually hearing a distant echo, “I want that map back soon!”

Nick slowed back to a walk, stepping over the rusted rails carefully, making sure not to trip over the small rubble and trash that littered the floor. He took out his newly acquired map and unfolded it, studying it for a short moment. In about a hundred feet there should be a door that lead into the sewers. Nick mapped out his route mentally:it would take a fifteen minute detour to bypass the cave-in the main tunnel had and end up right outside of Hyde’s Station. _It shouldn’t be too difficult_ , Nick thought to himself. While walking to the entrance he went over his route again-- he had to be sure. No room for mistakes in there. He stopped in front of the door and pocketed the map, taking out his gunmetal grey revolver, and rested a finger on the side. He took a second to compose himself, taking deep breaths. He closed his eyes for a second, finding his thoughts wandering to that blue sky and yellow sun.

Nick undid the large bolt lock and swung the door open, sweeping the opening with his revolver. While some mammals needed headlamps or flashlights, Nick had the advantage of his natural night vision. There were only a few skeletons present-- some laying on the ground, others with their backs against the walls. He carefully walked into the much smaller tunnel, running parallel with the main line. He closed the door behind him quietly and proceeded down the path, keeping his ears and eyes open, stepping over spent casings. He heard only the deafening silence under his own breathing and footsteps, seeing no life. He focused on the casings: they must have been recently fired, since no scavengers had picked them up. Normally Nick would have stopped to pocket the spent shells, selling them to a bullet-maker in the next town, but he didn’t want to be in the side paths any longer than he should. Despite the sewers having not been used or maintained in decades, the place still faintly smelled of sewage. He passed by a ladder leading to who knows where. As the tunnel curved he saw something very unfortunate.  


_No, no._ He thought to himself, seeing large rocks. The path forwards was nearly completely sealed in rubble, the cave-in from the main tunnel must have affected the side path as well! He went on his toes and peered through an opening near the top. The exit was right there, no more than 10 feet away and just out of his grasp. He went through half a dozen different curses, debating with himself if he should exit the way he came or try to-

Nick heard a distant whisper and froze. He heard stories about whispers: they were supposed to be angry, vengeful-- if a mammal could decipher what was being said, it would be full of vile hexes in countless languages living and dead. Many travelers said that the whispers were a prelude to an attack. But this whisper wasn’t harsh. It was feminine, pleasant to hear. Memories of his mother singing lullabies came to mind, a memory from a more peaceful life.

He turned his head slowly to face the origin of the whispering, both afraid and curious, finding it only a few feet behind him on the right side wall, just past the ladder leading down deeper into the sewers. It was a shadow on the wall that moved and breathed as if it were alive. The shadow of a rabbit, having no discernible features aside from dark green eyes. Green. Nick was always fond of green. The rabbit stared at him as he stared back. The fox swallowed, he had never heard of a phenomenon like this before. He blinked and watched as the rabbit pointed to the vertical tunnel and its ladder. Did the shadow want him to go down the ladder, deeper into the sewers? But why? Thoughts of doubt creeped up on Nick. The shadow glanced the other way, towards the way he entered and looked back to Nick. He saw worry through her dark green eyes. The fox slowly let his mouth open to speak, questions on the tip of his tongue.

But he heard more whispers, from a dozen different mouths. Echoing into his mind and bouncing around his skull, causing swells of pain. Dread sank into his stomach-- thoughts of death, being ripped apart by beings made of rage and vengeance filled his mind as he looked to where the rabbit had glanced to. The path seemed to stretch. At the end flickering into sight was a black mass. Fingers of shadow crept towards him on the walls and floor as it approached him slowly. Its many feet and arms wasn’t quite touching the ground and walls. It was splayed out and covering the width of the tunnel.  Nick couldn’t move, couldn’t open his mouth to scream, couldn’t look away from the nightmarish thing. The whispers grew louder into an angry chorus and Nick heard the wails of the damned accompanying it. He began to smell blood and rotting flesh, tasted blood in his mouth and felt sharp pricks on his skin. The indecipherable voices drowned out the sound of everything else.

Then he heard a series of clangs, Nick reactively looked towards it, tearing his eyes away from the angry shadow. He saw the ladder, the top rung missing a bolt. All he heard now was the sound of his heavy breathing; all he smelled now was the faint scent of sewage. He heard angry whispers again, but gripped with fear he dared not look towards them. Instead he glanced to the other shadow. The rabbit with the green eyes, eyes filled with determination. She jumped down the ladder. Nick quickly holstered his revolver and followed, grabbing the ladder by the sides and sliding down at speed. Deeper into the sewers.

  
It was getting darker. Nick wondered what he had just escaped into. He tightened his grip on the sides of the ladder, slowing him down. His feet met hard concrete once more. There wasn’t much time to think about what he had just escaped, and what just helped him escape. There was something… off about the large concrete chamber he just entered. He scanned the dark room quickly, pulling out his revolver at the same time. There were three doors, Nick pulled out his map with his free hand and glanced at it. The penciled in additions didn’t go into that much detail. Nick scanned the room one last time, convinced was in a safer place now. He collapsed onto his rear and sat against the wall, catching his breath for a few minutes.  He stuffed the map back into his pocket, picking up the bolt that fell from the ladder. It was fine, nearly no rust on it at all, but it was too well timed for it to be coincidence. The fox scratched his head and pocketed it next to his map-- a lucky bolt. He then got up to examine each door. They were exactly identical, right down to the amount of claw marks on its surface. Something was definitely amiss. He smelled the scent of a mammal-- no, three. He followed it to the door to the left.

Nick crouched by the door, revolver at the ready. He closed his eyes and kept sniffing. Two canids… jackals, probably. And a rabbit? Nick glanced back to the walls of the room, half expecting to see the green eyed shadow, but she wasn’t present. He turned his attention back to the door, trying to discern what they were saying.  
“...I’m sayin’ we should eat this one. We haven’t had fresh meat in weeks.”  
“That’s not why we’re here, we should kill him and go.”  
“A nibble, a leg!”  
Nick narrowed his eyes and thumbed at the hammer of his revolver. There were two jackals and a captured rabbit. He had no idea of how well armored and armed the two jackals were… but they were distracted. And Nick had three shots for the both of them.

He could kick open the door right now, put a bullet or two into each of the jackals. Stop them from shooting the rabbit, or tearing the preys leg off on the spot for a travelling snack. He thought about the shadow with the green eyes. Why was she a rabbit?  
Nick could also wait, try and discern more information about them. It seemed like they had a goal: perhaps with time they would mention their objective? But that would put the rabbit at risk. Bandits and raiders were known for their impulsive and thoughtless actions.  
He looked to the other doors. He could easily just turn the other cheek. This was not his business. The fox would avoid confrontation altogether and try to navigate the sewers alone.


	3. Chapter 3

After The Fall, those who found themselves still alive in their shelters came up to a ruined world. A few tried to retain some semblance of civilization, surprisingly with some success. Although most others would succumb to madness in this time of desperation and prey on those weaker. Note that a few took it upon themselves to guard what remained of their culture. They were well trained, well equipped, and many had years of experience. They saw The Fall not as the end of the world, but a new chapter in the book of their planet; a darker, much bleaker chapter. One with the need of a beacon of good, of hope, and with a need of mammals to guard it.

* * *

 

Nick took a deep breath. If some higher power was trying to tell him to rescue the rabbit by sending him the shadow of one to save him, then so be it. He glanced at his revolver checking the back of the cylinder, making sure there were bullets chambered. Going into a fight was always nerve wracking, he went over what he would do, while listening further to try and pinpoint the location of the three mammals on the other side of the door. He would swing it open, one shot into each of the jackals. Quick and easy. Nick stood up, revolver ready, paw on the door handle. He took a deep breath. Quick and easy... He pulled at the door forcefully, adrenaline coursing through his veins.

There they were, two jackals, and one rabbit sitting. Rope binding their arms and legs. The two jackals were definitely bandits, shirtless, a metal plate or two strapped to their arm or chest. The stereotypical bad guy. All three were facing away from him. Nick’s ears went down as he aimed at the bandit on the left, he squeezed the trigger. A deafening crack echoed throughout the room, causing the rabbit to flinch, and the other bandit to turn towards him, gun at his hip. Nick was quick, but the last remaining jackal was quicker. The fox grit his teeth, maybe if the jackal fired too early, or if he was a poor shot...

Nick was expecting to be hit, what he didn’t expect was the captive rabbit turning and leaping at the jackal to tackle him. The bandit was caught by surprise just like Nick and in response he squeezed off a burst of fire from his machine pistol, the bullets hitting the floor just a few inches away from Nick’s feet. This was what the fox needed, just a split second more! He hastily aimed his revolver and squeezed off two rounds, the first was fired too early, going wide and hitting the wall behind his target. The second didn’t miss, slamming into the chest of the bandit. Nick looked at the two bodies to make sure they weren’t moving, then sighed a breath of relief.

He closed his eyes now that the fight was done. Taking a short moment to control his breathing and his pounding heart rate. He opened his eyes and took out his knife, he had to cut the rope that was binding the rabbit… Except that the rabbit had already gotten his hands free. Nick let his jaw drop a little as he sheathed his knife and watched the rabbit take off the cloth blindfold over his eyes. Blue, determined eyes. Nick noticed striped ears and cheeks as he got a better look at the rabbit, who had just gotten his feet free.  
  
“What were you doing?” The rabbit asked.  
Nick rose an eyebrow, “Rescuing you, clearly.”  
The striped rabbit blinked, “Not the way I would have done it.” he walked over to a pack on the floor, presumably his. He sorted his equipment, setting aside a beautifully crafted compact sub-machine gun. Nick saw its numerous attachments, folding foregrip, a flashlight module mounted on the side of the barrel, even a reflex gun sight. Nick blinked in disbelief. The rabbit unhooked something from the side of his pack and unwrapped it, revealing a partially assembled sniper rifle. Only the barrel was unscrewed, held next to the rest of the rifle by rope. Nick saw that it had a folding stock, and even a telescopic sight. He blinked again in disbelief, _who was this guy?_ Nick thought to himself. Only the special forces of some of the more wealthy factions were geared like this. Or the Order, but the chances of a nobody like Nick meeting an Order Ranger was pretty much impossible. “How did you even get here anyways?” The rabbit asked, he had his rifle wrapped up once more and was now putting on his rucksack.

Nick pointed behind him with his thumb, “I just came…” he looked back and saw a concrete wall, “Through a door and got lost.” he finished quickly, looking back at the rabbit.  
The rabbit narrowed his eyes, “That’s a solid wall.”  
“I got really lost.”  
The rabbit stayed silent for a moment. Nick could feel the rabbit stare holes through him, “Grab that gun and the ammo.” The rabbit commanded, pointing at the machine pistol on the floor.  
“What?” Nick asked, confused.  
“Your ‘rescue’ actually killed the two people I was getting information from. Now I can only guess which settlement they’re going to attack. Though I have an idea.”  
Nick let his jaw drop a little. Why would the shadow point him towards a rabbit who didn’t need saving? “Which settlement?” Nick asked curiously.  
“Hidden Burrows most likely. They were recently hit by another bandit gang, which would have weakened their defenses. We’ll have to be quick. Since you killed the only two mammals that would have confirmed the attack, you’re coming too.”  
“Oh.” Nick simply said, maybe that was why the shadow guided him here. “Right.” He looked down to the bodies and grabbed the gun, a homemade piece of junk compared to what the rabbit had. He also looted the magazine belt off of the dead bandit as well, the fox did a quick look over of his new weapon. A 9mm machine pistol with a lower rate of fire, judging by the burst that was fired at him, that meant easier control, especially with a weapon that had no stock. Overall a poor weapon, but the rate of fire would be beneficial.  
“Come on. You’re going first, Fox.”  
Nick looked up, seeing the striped rabbit already peering out of the room into the hallway. Like this the rabbit could keep him in front of his gun, but this wasn’t totally unexpected. After all, Nick did just walk through a wall, apparently. He stepped out and walked down the corridor, following the rabbits directions.  
“I’m going to be asking you a few questions. First, how did you end up in the room without anyone noticing? You couldn’t have been there before they dragged me in.” The rabbit began,

“Like I said earlier, I got lost.” Nick explained, as the two walked through the dark tunnels, flashlights in hand. He continued before the striped rabbit could reply, “I’ve been wondering, why recruit me instead of shoot me?”  
“Huh?” The rabbit rose an eyebrow at the question,  
“Come on Stripes. A strange fox coming out of nowhere, just in time to mount a rescue. It doesn’t all look suspicious to you? Any other rabbit would have killed me or left me. Instead, you rope me into your dangerous mission.” Nick explained, “For all you know I could be a bandit spy sent in to make sure people like you don’t jeopardize the job.” The fox looked back at the rabbit. Stripes’ eyes wandered down to the ground before looking back up to Nick.  
“... I have a hunch, and I’m willing to give you a chance.” The striped rabbit replied after a moment of silence.  
Nick was stunned at that, he expected to be used as some kind of mammal shield, a distraction, even bait. Of course there still was a chance for any of those, but Stripes seemed honest. “Not many strangers would do that for me.” Nick managed to say.

The two mammals traveled the rest of the way in relative silence. Nick was relieved at the lack of questions, the fewer answers he gave to the rabbit, the fewer leads the smaller mammal would have if their newfound friendship were to go sour.  
“Here.” Stripes said, breaking the silence.  
Nick stopped and looked back towards the rabbit, seeing the ladder leading up. He walked over to it and looked up, seeing the underside of a manhole. “So who’s going first?”  
Stripes unslung his sub-machine gun and hooked it to the front of his vest, “I’ll be going first. I want you right behind me.”  
Nick rose an eyebrow, “Okay.” he crammed his looted machine pistol into the pocket of his coat. The fox watched as the well armed rabbit began to ascend the ladder, after a few seconds, Nick followed. He thought about leaving right then and there, but decided against it. Thinking that he should at least follow Stripes for a little bit seeing as the shadow of a rabbit saved him. Nick didn’t want to piss off any ghosts.

Stripes lifted the manhole with one arm, surprising Nick with his strength, then climbed onto the surface. Nick looked up as the rabbit did so, seeing the light grey clouds covering the sky.  
Nick heard a mutter “...Cheese and crackers.”, he picked up his pace up the ladder, getting up to the surface as quickly as possible. Standing next to Stripes, he saw Hidden Burrows. It was a smaller settlement, surrounded by walls made of wood, scrap metal and whatever else the settlers could get their hands on, concrete barriers, bricks. Inside were several buildings made of the same material as their barriers. The place was just outside of the city, there were no ruins or rubble there, only the dusty ground and rolling hills.

The settlement was on fire in several locations. From where they came up from, the edge of the city, he could see the smoke. Though the distance made it hard to see any details, for all they knew everyone inside could be dead.  
“We have to go there.” Stripes said, almost like a command.  
“What? How far-”  
“About 700 meters.” The rabbit informed, then he put his paws on his gun and jogged towards the burning settlement.  
“Wha-?” Nick was dumbfounded, running that distance in full kit, in open ground with no cover whatsoever, took a special kind of bravery. Or stupidity. Nick cursed under his breath, following that rabbit would be incredibly idiotic and they would be certainly dead if anyone decided to shoot at them while they were running... _If only the shadow who helped wasn’t a rabbit. If only I didn’t need to go there._ Nick thought to himself. He grabbed his machine pistol and ran after the rabbit.

The run was tough. Nick always said that he wasn’t the fittest fox around, but he wasn’t entirely out of shape either. Running that distance and keeping up with Stripes, with his rucksack, equipment, bullets and guns exhausted him. How that rabbit ran with his own things weighing him down, including a whole sniper rifle, completely baffled Nick. The rabbit must be incredibly athletic. Nick kept scanning the horizon for threats, but the rabbit had his eyes on the settlement. As soon as they reached the walls, the both of them placed their backs on it. Nick panted heavily, and Stripes’ breath only quickened a little. They moved along the walls until Stripes reached a breach in the wall, he peeked his head around the corner, then yelled, “Friendlies coming in!”  
A second passed, “Come in!”  
  
The fox and rabbit stepped through the gap in the wall. In the middle of the settlement were the dead laid down, Nick counted five. There were a good amount of guards around, they must have come from Hyde’s Station to help. Nick looked around, the settlers were smaller mammals and he saw small patches of tilled dirt fenced off. Walking over to one patch, he looked closer. Seeing small brown stems and leaves. He blinked and crouched over the small fence slowly. He touched a leaf with his finger.  
“They’re root crops.” A voice came from behind him. Nick jumped a little and pulled his hand away from the plant.  
“Huh?” Nick replied, looking back. It was an older rabbit, wearing a farmer's hat.  
“Like potatoes. We’ve tried planting other crops, but they don’t last very long in this soil. For some reason, these grow. Just barely.” The farmer put his hands on his hips.  
“I’ll have to try some of these later. In less difficult times.” Nick replied, looking back down at the plants. He sat down, “Does this place have a library of sorts, by any chance?” Nick asked the farmer.  
“Hm… No library. We did have someone who knew a lot about books though, she had a lot of them in her house.” The farmer pointed over to a home dotted with bullet holes. It was entirely encased in metal, the entrance seemed like it was from an airlock door from a submarine.  
“Jeez, what kind of person is she?” Nick asked.  
“She was always kind of nervous, a strange badger that one.”  
“Wait.” Nick looked to the farmer, “She wasn’t called Honey by any chance?”  
“Yeah that’s her name. Know her?”  
“Is she here?”  
“...No. She was taken hostage by the raiders. They took two others, and a couple sacks of crops.”  
Nick cursed and got up quickly, “Do you have transport to spare?”  
“U-Uh, eh, yeah!” The farmer replied, he pointed towards a garage, “Our messenger has an ATV he uses. He uh… won’t be needing it anymore.” His gaze went towards the dead lying in the middle of the settlement. He looked back to Nick voice quieter, “If you’re going after those raiders, take it.”

  
Nick looked at the garage containing the ATV, then to Honey’s home. He had two options.  
He could try to break into Honey’s bunker. What he needed for the document was very likely in there. Only just a minutes walk, a few minutes of lock picking, and he’d be in.  
He could also take the ATV and go after those raiders to rescue Honey. She would probably know which files fitted with the document, but going after her would take time, resources, and involve the risking Nick’s life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Voting here.  
> http://www.strawpoll.me/11393877


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